Heat pump calculator ready for both non-domestic and domestic RHI

The Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) has recently announced the inclusion of non-domestic air to water heat pumps and ground to water heat pumps in the RHI scheme, with respective tariff levels of 2.5p/kWh and 7.2p/kWh equivalent (Tiered tariff with 8.7p/kWh for the first 15% of energy delivered and 2.6p/kWh for any remaining).

“We welcome the inclusion of heat pumps in the non-domestic scheme as we know that they provide one of the most straightforward way for businesses to lower both their heating bills and their carbon footprints,” commented John Kellett, General Manager of the company’s Heating Division.

All systems installed from the 4th December are now eligible to claim the tariffs from spring 2014. The non-domestic tariffs are also paid on the total energy delivered, not the renewable energy delivered, as long as the installation achieves a minimum seasonal efficiency level of 2.5.

The new Ecodan selection tool allows anyone to examine the viability of heat pumps for their building and shows both running cost comparisons against other technologies and payback periods, which take the RHI payments into account.

“We have built this tool to allow anyone to access the relevant information for their project, whether they are a homeowner, a consultant, a contractor or an individual business,” added Kellett.

“There is a mass of information concerning RHI and we wanted to ensure that people considering their options can cut through all this so that they can access all of the information needed to allow them to find the best solution for their own individual situation.”

Mitsubishi Electric is the market leader in heat pumps with the Ecodan range available in individual domestic units from 4kW right up to commercial systems that will deliver 688kW of heating. The system is already installed in thousands of homes across the UK and is being specified for more commercial projects, such as schools and student accommodation.

The installation of 41 units into a multi-purpose development in Kingston upon Thames recently also clearly demonstrated that heat pumps can offer a viable solution to district heating schemes.

“The heat pump market in the UK is now firmly established and RHI is going to help accelerate growth as more people realise how controllable, reliable and flexible the technology is,” ended Kellett.